The beard (Arabic:
liyah) is defined as the hair which grows on the cheeks and the jaws (ex.,
review: al-Q m s al-Muh t by al-Fayrazabad ). It includes the hair of the
temples, the growth underneath the lower lip, the hair of the chin, and
the hair that grows on the lower side of the jaws.

The Islamic Ruling
Concerning Beards

Growing the beard
is a wajib (mandatory) for all males who are capable of doing so. This
has ample evidence in the Sunnah (as will be shown below) and is the unanimous
opinion of the ulamaa of Islam. One should not be misled by the neglect
to this sunnah by a few contemporary shaykhs, and by their providing shaky
fatwas to support their action. By doing that they make people follow them
into the wrong way, when the Messenger (S) said: He
who starts a good sunnah (way) will be rewarded for it, in addition to
receiving rewards equal to the rewards of those who follow him into it.
Whereas he who starts a bad sunnah will be burdened with it, in addition
to receiving burdens equal to the burdens of those who follow him into
it. [Muslim]

And he said:
Allah
does not pull the knowledge abruptly from the hearts of people, but he
takes away the knowledge by taking [the lives of] the `ulamaa (true scholars).
When no `ulamaa are left, people will take ignorant persons for leaders.
Those will give them fatwa (religious verdicts) without knowledge. By doing
this, they will stray and lead others astray as well. [Al-Bukhari]

A List of Violations

Shaving the beard
results in a series of Islamic violations, as is obvious from Allah's Book
and His Messenger's Sunnah. The following is a list (not necessarily comprehensive)
of such violations:

a.
A Disobedience to Allah (T)Shaving the
beard is a disobedience to Allah (T). The ruler of Yemen, appointed by
the Persian emperor Kisraa, sent two envoys to the Messenger (S) to summon
him. When they came into his presence, he noticed that they had shaved
their beards and grew their moustaches. He hated to look at them (because
of their odd appearance) and he said: Woe be to you, who told you to do
so? They replied: "Our lord! (referring to Kisraa.)" The Messenger (S)
then said:

But my Lord,
may He be exalted and glorified, has commanded me to leave alone my beard
and to trim my moustache. [Recorded by Ibn Jar r a-abar , and judged to
be Hasan (good) by al-Albani.]

b. A Disobedience
To the Messenger (S)Shaving the
beard is a disobedience to the Messenger (S). In many hadiths, the Messenger
(S) commanded men to leave alone their beards. These different hadiths
have a similar meaning:

Trim the moustache
and save the beard. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Obeying the
Messenger (S) in that is equivalent to obeying Allah (T) who said (what
means):

He who obeys
the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah. [An-Nisaa 4:80]

c. A Deviation
from the Appearance and Guidance of the Messenger (S)Shaving the
beard is a deviation from the appearance and guidance of the Messenger
(S). The Messenger (S) used to have a large beard [Muslim]. One should
strive to imitate him (S) in his practices, as Allah (T) said (what means):In
the Messenger of Allah is a good example for you to follow. [Al-Ahzab 33:21]

And the Messenger
(S) said: Verily, the best guidance is Muhammad's guidance. [Muslim]

d. A Deviation
from the Way of BelieversShaving the
beard is a deviation from the way of believers. All the prophets (S), the
sahbah (Prophet's companions), the great `ulamaa, and the righteous early
Muslims of this Ummah (Nation) grew their beards. There is no report of
a single one of them ever shaving his beard. Thus, this is their way, and
Allah (T) says (in the meaning):

Whoever disobeys
the Messenger after guidance has been clarified to him, and follows other
than the path of the believers, We shall give to him what he deserves and
broil him in hell, which is the worst abode. [An-Nisaa 4:115]

e. An Imitation
of the DisbelieversShaving the
beard is an imitation of the disbelievers. This has been emphasized in
several hadiths of the Prophet (S). For example:

Cut the moustaches
and grow your beards. Be different from the Magians (followers of a religion
that dominated in Persia). [Muslim]

Cut your moustaches
and leave your beards alone. Be different from the people of the scripture.
[Muslim]

Be different
from the Mushrikin (those who worship other than Allah (T)); trim your
moustaches and save your beards. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

We have been
commanded to be different and distinct from the disbelievers, as in surat
ul-Fatihah. Also, Allah (T) said (what means):

Follow not
the whims of those who have no knowledge (of Islam). [Al-Jathiyah 45:18]

And His Messenger
(S) said: Whoever imitates a people is but one of them. [Recorded by Abu
Dawud, and judged to be authentic by al-Albani]

f. Changing
Allah's Creation without PermissionThe Messenger
(S) declared that the women who change what Allah (T) has created (such
as removing the hair from their faces or filing their teeth or tattooing
their bodies) seeking by that to improve their appearance, are accursed
by Allah (T). [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The hadith
mentioned women in particular because they normally seek to beautify themselves
more than men. But the warning surely applies to both sexes, because the
condition for the curse is declared, and thus the curse applies to anyone
who satisfies such condition.

Shaving the
beard falls under this warning, as it is much worse than the Nam (removal
of facial hair) practiced by some women. It involves obeying Satan who
said:

And I shall
tempt them until they change what Allah has created. [An-Nisaa 4:119]

g. An Imitation
of WomenThe beard
is a major distinction between men and women. Shaving it removes this distinction,
and is thus a means of imitating women. The Messenger (S) said:

Allah curses
those men who imitate the women, and He curses those women who imitate
the men. [Al-Bukhari]

h. Shaving
the Beard Contradicts the Pure Fitrah (Nature)Allah's Messenger
(S) mentioned ten qualities as indicative of a good, clean nature [Muslim].
Two of these qualities are to trim the moustaches and to grow the beard.

The Messenger
(S) also tells that every child is born with a clean, pure fitrah, which
later may get deformed by the influence of the environment and the up-bringing.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

In the footsteps
of the disbelievers, many Muslims' fitrah is now, unfortunately, so much
deformed that they seem to find a clean-shaven man more handsome and masculine
than one with a beard - exactly the opposite of what the Messenger (S)
declared in the above hadith.

This fitrah
never changes with time: Allah (T) said (what means):

The pure nature
according to which Allah has created people. There is no change in Allah's
creation. [Ar-Room 30:30]

For shaving
their beards, some men give the strange excuse that their wives prefer
them without one! As if their purpose in this life is to follow the deformed
inclinations of their wives instead of the clear-cut commands of Allah
(T) and His Messenger (S)!

Others claim
that growing their beards results in an irritability and scratching. This
cannot result from abiding by the pure fitrah, but would result (if true)
from neglect of the proper cleaning and washing with wudu as instructed
in the Sunnah.

What the `Ulamaa
and Imams Say

All the `ulamaa
of as-Salaf u- li, including the Four Imams, agreed that shaving the beard
is haram (prohibited). They considered shaving it an impermissible mutilation,
as has been reported about Umar bin Abdil-Aziz. They used to consider the
person who shaved his beard effeminate. Many of them would not accept his
witness or allow him to lead the prayers.

May Allah
(T) guide us to abide by His Deen, and to adhere to His Messenger's Sunnah,
and to be among those whom he blessed in both lives.